Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday, September 14, 2016 American Ambulance 7:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, Alderman H. Tucker Braddock and Alderman Gerald Martin Administration and Staff Present: Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick; Chris LaRose, Norwich Public Utilities; Chief Pat Daley, East Great Plains Fire Department/Norwich Police Department; and Chief Scandariato, Norwich Fire Department Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Chief Frank Blanchard, Ken Leo, and Chris Colonas, Yantic Fire Department; Tom Jencks and William Hadam, Taftville Fire Department; and Damian Rickard, American Ambulance Citizens Present: Brian Kobylarz and Michael Dziavit I. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. There was a quorum present. II. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of July 13, 2016 Alderman Martin motioned, seconded by Alderman Braddock, to approve the July 13, 2016 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. III. Correspondence: None. IV. Citizen Comment: Brian Kobylarz asked about the painting on the boat launch area. He noted that the Department of Public Works (DPW) did repaint some vehicle parking places but not marks going down to the water for safety of pedestrians. He reported that years ago he worked on developing a system for a centralized way to reserve space within the city. Fire departments, the health department, Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) and others had been involved. He suggests the idea be revisited. A clear policy and directions should be created and made available. He offered to help and to share information he previously gathered. V. Old Business: Alderman Nash asked if the Chiefs were able to submit their city-wide plan to the committee. Chief Scandariato handed in his plans with the caveat to contact City Manager John Salomone with question and comments. Chief Daley also handed in his plan. Chief Blanchard said he was absent when the initial request was made. He asked for clarification. Alderman Nash explained that he asked each Chief to present his ideas on the best plan for whole city. He suggested topics such as how to replace trucks, reassessing the need for all the trucks currently within the city, and to sum up the Chief’s opinion on how to best serve the city. He would like to see the topics of equipment needed for the entire city and distribution of those apparatus. He reported that the City Manager would like to create a replacement schedule. Chief Blanchard said he will submit his report within a week. VI. New Business: a) Norwich Public Utilities Update: Chris LaRose, Operations Manager at NPU, reported it has been a very dry year. The reservoirs are reaching near 70% capacity. An internal water supply watch may go into effect. That would not affect customers. He  requested the departments be prudent with hydrants and training. He noted NPU is in a watch position. NPU has a 20 year water supply plan and extra water is available. b) Fire House Status Updates: Taftville: Deputy Chief Tom Jencks reported their membership is currently growing with 5 new members. They have had a few walks throughs and assisted the Connecticut State Police. The picnic was an overall success. Occum: No report. Yantic: Chief Blanchard reported the membership is strong and full. They had two new members last month. He noted that the station will have a budget shortfall on materials and supplies due to epipen price increases. The stations completed a medical inventory. Rescue 3 was out of service for a light tower repair which was a $600 unbudgeted expense. Engine 31 is their oldest at 38 years old. It was out of service last month. Another with model year 2000 engine was out of service for 14 days last month. Rust was flushed out of the system. It had clogged a nozzle. He had to call mutual aid several times this month due to the truck being out of service. It is currently in the city garage being torn apart and put back together. The internal piping must be replaced. Alderman Martin mentioned bringing someone in to perform an ultrasound inspection of the internal pipes. Chief Blanchard has a 2006 truck that he wants inspected for the same problem. Calls were average in august; mutual aid was up. He has confirmed a spot for pump operator class in Yantic next month and a live burn drill using the Colchester facility. Also he worked with the new fire inspector to review parking lots of multifloor buildings for fire equipment access issues. He has been preplanning response of a couple of buildings each month. The new reporting software is awaiting CAD integration for street assignments. Currently they are not doing call entry but it is a great system and easy to use. He commended the work of the city garage. Laurel Hill: No report. East Great Plains: Chief Daley reported membership is down one. The renovation project on first floor is going well. An outside training vendor is coming in. Chief Daley invited all others to join the training. The tanker has been busy. It is 28 years old. The station responded to mutual aid to Montville also. There have been a lot of age related repairs necessary. He has concern with the continued availability of parts. He commended the city garage, also. The loaner truck has gone back to its company. The station is switching to the new reporting software. They are pleased with system and are hoping to get it up and going soon. Norwich: Chief Scandariato reported on a roof leak in Greeneville which caused interior and structural damage. Most of the damage will be covered by the roof warranty. He is working with DPW on it. He reported one unanticipated retirement – Kurasz. The department will have another round of promotions due to the created absence in ranks. Firefighter recruitment is underway. He would like to see local people come on board. The department is offering the captains exam, since having active firefighters ready for promotions cuts down on overtime when vacancies arise. His training budget is taking a hit due to the training needed to fill vacancies. He will be doing a staffing plan. The station has had a lot of multiple calls when all trucks are out, so they have called the volunteer departments. Several apparatus have suffered 2-3 day breakdowns. They dropped into engine 4 which has been identified as needing to be replaced. The fire boat clearly needs to be replaced. It provides rescue availability and an option for rescue capacity on the wharf. The city garage cannot fix this boat. He  is starting to look at the budget for next year for capital items outside of apparatus. He is trying to coordinate with volunteer partners. He is also researching the decision whether to upgrade airpacks versus buying new. He will bring this back to the council next year. American Ambulance: Damian Rickard reported on a very large event at Foxwoods. It is a daylong rock festival with 10,000 - 12,000 people expected to attend. There has been significant planning for the event. Mutual aid is coming in. Other than that, he reported status quo conditions. Norwich Police Department: Chief Daley reported nothing out of the ordinary but high call volume. There was a very large fight on Central Avenue. Mutual aid called in the Connecticut State Police. They have two new officers in from the academy. Emergency Management: No report. VII. Other: Alderman Martin reported regarding the need to replace the radio system within the city. Chief Daley reported on a process done within the last couple of years. There was a city- wide effort and an RFP created. The capital budget includes $130,000 to complete a study on the issue. It was decided that Alderman Martin would work with City Manager John Salomone to move ahead with the study. Chief Scandariato cautioned Alderman Martin to consider dispatch in the plan. Brian Kobylarz offered to contact a radio frequency specialist who may be able to assist in the study. Chief Scandariato spoke about the city’s ISO rating, which was last set in 2013. The 2013 ISO rating did not accurately reflect Norwich’s response times and other factors, so he has requested an appeal of the rating. After three years, Norwich finally got the opportunity have the rating revisited. Chief Scandariato has requested information from each volunteer department, and other city departments, to present at the review on October 21, 2016. The inspectors will meet with him and others are welcome. They will meet with dispatch, Chris Larose, and Chief Daley. Chief Blanchard noted that he was not satisfied with the ISO rating in 2013, either. He said the Yantic Fire Department will be available to the inspectors. Chief Daley suggested a volunteer chief be present at the meetings and suggested Chief Tim Jencks. On a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman Braddock, the committee unanimously voted to have Chief Tim Jencks attend the ISO appeal meeting on October 21, 2016 to represent the city’s volunteer departments. It was decided to have Chief Jencks collect necessary data from the volunteer departments. Chief Daley requested a meeting with Chief Scandariato to discuss the ISO appeal prior to the October 21st meeting. Chief Scandariato agreed. VIII. Future Agenda Items: Chief Daley asked that radios be added as a regular agenda item IX. Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Braddock, seconded by Alderman Martin, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 8:15 PM. Respectfully submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary